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Growing a Church with love Rose Sims shares her vision for a thriving congregation
The real Mary Magdelene?Jen Waters examines the trugh begind the myth of this famous biblical character
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Good News at General ConferenceScott N. Field identifies the purpose of our legislative efforts
A time to prayJan Woodard explores the prayer plans for General Conference 2004
The power of the laityDiane Knippers challenges the men and women in the pews to take their proper place in church life
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If you can dream it, you can do it!
From a fledgling sect after its organization in 1784, Methodism grew from a few thousand to the largest denomination in the land. It surpassed the Baptists by 20 percent, and had as many members as Episcopalians, Congregationalists, and Presbyterians combined. By 1850, more than one-fourth of all professing Christians in America were Methodist. Had that rate of increase continued for a few more generations, every man, woman, and child on the continent would have been won to Christ and been called a Methodist.
How did they do it? Wesley gave us the five point, foolproof, guaranteed, unfailing, ingredients for church growth:
For the past 40 years, I have put those principles to work in ordinary churches, often in seemingly impossible situations. With great joy, I have watched those dead and dying churches go from despair to hope, often leading the state in professions of faith.
Kindred spirits
On the fatal day when Hitler invaded Norway, a young Viking visionary, with ticket and seminary scholarship in hand and a dream in his heart, watched the old sea captain hoisting the final gangplank on the last boat leaving Norway. Hitler came to Norway to replace the Cross with the hated Swastika and the Bible with Mein Kampf. Hitler's firm conviction was that all it takes to become a godless world is to create one generation of children and youth who know nothing about God and one generation of adults who don't care. When the church in Europe was most needed, it was empty, voiceless, and impotent.
Oscar had searched the harbor daily for cabin space and had the opportunity to share his dream with the saintly old harbormaster. Every cabin was packed to capacity, every inch of deck claimed by the hundreds of Jewish refugees fleeing the Holocaust. The harbormaster was now hoisting the gangplank! A tug at the sleeve, a prophetic order defying all protocol: "Get on board. Take your dream to America. Prove with your life that as the church goes, so goes the nation." So began Oscar's adventure.
The ship's log in Ellis Island for that day had one clean extra page with just one name, Oscar Grindheim.
It was in my third year at seminary that I first met this young, brilliant, and popular Viking, Oscar. Everywhere I turned, I met people he had quietly led to Christ. It was in a class in which Nietzsche's "God is dead" theory and the decline of the church in America had been discussed that Oscar quietly shared his dream. "I came to America when America was number one in the world in faith, church attendance, medicine, technology, education, morals, and family values. If the church loses its purpose, if evangelism is mere talk without fruit, is it possible that one day America could be number one in crime, divorce, drugs, alcoholism, illegitimacy, and a greater mission field than Africa? He who does not learn from history is bound to repeat it." In that moment, I knew we were kindred spirits. We were married in August.
Our first appointment
Dream in hand, we crossed the windy, barren Nebraska prairie to our first student pastorate. I saw a nearly closed ramshackle one-room country church. Oscar saw a rebuilt church packed with the least, the lost, and the lonely. It was a dream I was never able to escape during the twenty-seven years we ministered together. It was his legacy to me when God called him home. Soul winning is an art that has to be lived to be understood.
The sun was setting in blazing splendor and the steeple was casting its shadow across the weed-grown cemetery. "Let's slip off our shoes." Hand in hand, we circled the church, claiming every inch as holy ground. As the sun sank, we knelt and I heard Oscar claim every lost soul in that town for Jesus and pledge to give his all to make it happen.
The next day was Sunday. At 11:00 the church was empty. Faith never wavering, Oscar suggested, "Play the piano. We will sing." Then I heard his unfaltering rich bass voice singing in affirmation.
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name!
The invocation was a praise of thanks for all those who would be won to Christ. The worship proceeded as if the church were full. Oscar and I continued singing, "Only believe! Only believe! All things are possible! Only Believe!" By the fourth verse, we were joined by 14 latecomers.
During the rest of that hour something happened that can be attributed only to the Holy Spirit and faith. Clearly something was happening that was not in the bulletin. Oscar quietly spoke of the reality of his dream for America and this church with such love, passion, simplicity, and urgency that when he gave the first altar call in many years, all 14 persons responded. Kneeling at the altar with tears, they dedicated themselves to make the vision a reality. They rose from their knees with a priceless new commodity called hope. Then I heard Oscar's familiar benediction, which I would hear week after week, "If you can dream it, you can do it. The worship is over and the service has begun."
After the potluck, those ordinary saints in overalls learned that goals must be biblical, specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, smart, and timely. Together around those homemade tables they asked the questions that led them to affirm Wesley's strategy and to write their first purpose statement: "The purpose of our church is to seek and save the lost and make disciples."
On Monday afternoon, the women of the church came bringing chickens and eggs and offerings from their gardens. The excuse was to help us get settled in our tiny four-room parsonage, but the real reason was to ask, "What do we do now?" A dream without action is like gold resting in the darkness of the mine. I sensed they were miles ahead of me, expecting after yesterday that God would somehow send another miracle today. Why not? Miracles come in many ways. Our miracle came at 3:30 promptly when the elementary school at the top of the hill dismissed a boisterous herd of school kids with nothing to do until supper. They came thundering right past the front door of the church. I didn't hear the miracle. I was busy making coffee for the ladies. They heard it. They were busy listening for a miracle. Children had stormed by the church door for years. They had always been somebody else's responsibility. Until now! "That's it!" said one mother. "My kids are growing up knowing nothing about God. Why don't we start an after school Kid's Klub?"
Growth is the only evidence that there is life in a church. I saw those few laypeople grow and stretch as they turned ideas into innovations. Jump-starting a country church is largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go. It is doing the undoable, trying the impossible, believing the unbelievable. Growth is nothing more than trying new ideas, letting go of what doesn't work, and keeping what does work. We had to dig into God's Word and develop our prayer lives.
The church was growing. Latent talent was discovered and put to work. They hung banners outside, put posters in every merchant's window, and advertised in the newspaper and on radio. They shared their dreams wherever they went. Word of mouth is always the cheapest and most effective advertisement.
Honest mistakes are evidence that somebody tried something. The only ones who never make a mistake are those who do nothing, and that is the biggest mistake of all. Problems are only opportunities awaiting solutions, a wake-up call for creativity. By the end of the week, those fired-up lay folks had decided they would have a clown, a kitchen band, games, music, and a prize for the child who made the best poster for the merchants' windows downtown. And, of course, at every activity they would present the way of salvation. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
There were 30 kids in that first Kid's Klub. Life sometimes hands you a magical moment. This was ours and we savored it. I love to go to a dying church because the sturdy few who have survived the naysayers are usually those to whom their church is a priceless treasure, well worth paying any price to revive. Those few had nursed the dying church and sat weeping at her deathbed. Dissension had nearly closed the church, but they learned that there are no mistakes in life, only lessons. Oscar preached that one unkind word may forever turn a lost soul from the church. Kind words are easy to speak and their echoes are endless. Before you speak, ask yourself, "Is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary?"
Wesley's strategy read: "Be a missionary church." As we called on those children's parents and in the community, we saw enormous physical, emotional, spiritual, economic, and relational needs. It was easy to see why walking through the church door on Sunday morning was low on their list of priorities. So why not open the windows first? The Kid's Klub was just the first of many windows. How were we to know that one day that club would encompass almost 200 children whose lives for eternity would be forever changed?
A Saturday recreation program was next. Then a clothing giveaway and exchange followed. "Share Your Garden" eventually led to a food program that established us as a mission outreach even across county lines. Through the years folks have tried small groups, Scouts, adult education, singles, counseling, tutoring, divorce recovery, country western gospel sings, dinners for eight, dinner theater, drama for youth, latchkey, health clinics, sports programs, musicals, drama, Alcoholics Anonymous, and scores of other open windows. We taught our laity the art of hospitality and friendship. A stranger should be greeted within three minutes of coming to a meeting, possibly even in the parking lot. We have all been to a new church where we felt as if we were attending someone else's family reunion. Every day you have two choices, to be happy or to be sad. We made it a habit to be happy.
We programmed to the purpose, budgeted to the purpose, trained to the purpose, and evaluated by the purpose. Of each program we asked, "Is it winning the lost and growing disciples, or are we only doing what some good atheist is probably already doing better?" It was hard work but as one of the local saints remarked, "If we want this church to grow, we shouldn't itch for anything we aren't willing to scratch for." It meant getting involved to the point of inconvenience.
The task of the pastor is to equip the laity for evangelism. This means intentionally training every convert not only how to win the lost, but to inspire, organize, and give leadership opportunities so that they can succeed. We knew that a church with a great spiritual vision can easily fail if the leader does not have a good work ethic. We have tried many good programs. They are all good, but few churches rise above their leadership. However, when lay people were trained, they actually took over a lion's share of the load. In our first church, we encouraged them to get intentionally involved socially with the unchurched, invite them to dinner, take them to a ball game, be a friend with the specific intention of one day sharing Christ with them.
Wesley said, "Believe God's word and live a holy life." Bible study and prayer was spontaneous and became habitual because the purpose was clear. Those laypeople studied to keep ahead of their own children. They prayed because they knew they needed God's help. They visited because they had a burden for the families whose children were accepting the Lord. I don't think God cares how we worship, whether the style is liturgical or less formal; whether we sing the grand old hymns or the new inspiring praise and worship songs. Raising your hand in worship is most meaningful when you also raise your hand to volunteer to teach, or visit, or witness, or even to clean the church. It is what happens after the benediction and before the invocation that determines the quality of worship on Sunday morning.
Primary in our purpose was Wesley's admonition, "You have nothing to do but save souls and make disciples." So at the intermission of a dinner theater or bowling party, or some other outreach event, we had a layperson or the pastor take five minutes to share an evangelistic message.
Through the years we saw hundreds accept Christ at non-church events. As prospects were followed through, many who accepted Christ later stood at the altar to make their profession public and to join the church. In fact, nearly 100 accepted Christ at the Country Western Gospel night in our last church. Many of those new converts became leaders in a calling program that encompassed the many who came through the doors, or the windows, of our church.
Farewell
When the day came for us to move on, we knew the church was ready for a full-time pastor. It had been hard work, but we had all learned so much about church growth. The last day, after the farewells had all been said and the folks had all gone home, Oscar and I stood for the last time on that holy ground. We took off our shoes and circled the church one last time. As we knelt in prayer, the full moon shone down on the rebuilt debt-free church, youth center, and social hall that had been packed to capacity that morning. Defining the purpose had built a praying, united, working laity, grounded in the faith and God's Word.
The years passed quickly as we went to other churches and saw the same kind of growth in every one of them. Were they all easy? No. Was God always faithful? Yes.
Oscar Goes Home
I was certain that our love for God and for each other was so strong that our family was unsinkable. I was sure it would last forever. But as Oscar winged his way gloriously to eternity, his last words to me were, "Keep the dream alive! Make America see it can happen anywhere! Prove it with your life!"
The unbelievable pain of loss made me doubt the dream for the first time. I had five children to support: one in medical school, another at the conservatory of music, one in college, and two nine-year-old adopted sons, plus a heavy load of teaching at the college. I wonder if stormy weather is what God sends from time to time to remind us we are never really in charge of anything.
We buried Oscar's broken body in a little pioneer cemetery adjacent to a closing Methodist church (Oscar's newest appointment) in the middle of an Amish cornfield. The next day, with my two sons beside me, we took off our shoes, and claimed every inch of the church's property as holy ground. Through eyes dimmed with tears, we dreamed about the new church and the souls that would be won.
Eight years later, when the new debt-free church was filled and ready for a full-time pastor, it was time for me to take a sabbatical. I had been accepted for post-doctoral research at Harvard. Bishop Goodrich asked me to help two more little dying country churches until I went east in the fall. I did so, and by fall the lost were accepting Christ and filling those churches. Because of that growth, the church offered to help fly me back on weekends if I would agree to stay. As I prayed, I felt led to stay on four years until they were ready for a full-time pastor. During the years in Missouri, those churches were among the fastest growing rural churches in the state. I was writing and sharing the dream with so many others who caught the vision and made it happen in their churches.
New Beginnings
"Weeping may last for a season, but joy comes in the morning." God is always in the miracle business. At a luncheon on a cold, rainy April day I was introduced to a retired Air Force sergeant, Jim Sims. He'd lost his wife to cancer several years before our meeting. Jim had a great compassion for people. We stayed in touch and eventually fell in love. Jim Sims and I were married and I moved to his home in Florida. The bishop said there were no churches open in Florida. I taught at a college and continued my research. Six miles north of our home, in the little community of Trilby, stood a one-room, unpainted church with only a tiny handful of people left. The church was located in one of Florida's highest crime areas and because of low attendance it was scheduled to close. Seven Methodist churches around it had already closed.
This time it was Jim who said, "Let's prove it with our lives!" I became the pastor of Trilby United Methodist Church. Six years later, those eight in attendance had grown to 350 members with debt-free buildings and a ministry that the Board of Global Ministries evaluated at a replacement cost of nearly a million dollars. Best of all, those buildings had been built and paid for without a fundraiser or a single negative vote. Jesus had been lifted up, and broken lives were mended. The Trilby Mission was packed with the African Americans, Anglos, and Hispanics who came for food, clothes, and our clinic. Our programs became wide-open doors and windows leading many of them to accept Christ. Teenagers and children who had accepted Christ shared their testimonies in a drama group week after week, leading many in attendance to Christ. A petition to the county brought a free health clinic and park. Singles, drama groups, country gospel nights, adult education, literacy programs, AA, a dinner theater group, etc., opened windows of opportunity. I performed 20 weddings for couples from our singles group. After they found Christ, they found new beginnings.
The week the United Methodist Church gave me the Circuit Rider award, their highest award for church growth, I thought back to that holy ground in a Nebraska prairie country churchyard. Wesley's foolproof method for church growth had never become outdated or ineffective. He had provided the ingredients that we never altered. What we did alter was the contemporary way in which we made them relevant to an America that was experiencing a moral and spiritual decline unparalleled in its history. Success is always a journey, not a destination. The road to success is always under construction.
As Bishop Earl Hunt dedicated our new buildings at Trilby, he said, "The problem of church growth is a simple problem. The only thing we have to do to get the church to grow is to help the church do more of what it is supposed to be doing all along. That is exactly what happened here. It happened because whenever the church of the Lord Jesus is turned loose in a community to help human beings and meet their needs and lift up the name of Jesus Christ, that church becomes indispensable in the community. There is a sign that should be hung over every church door. It should read, 'Broken lives mended here.' That is what happened here."
And it can happen anywhere! Wesley was right but you just have to prove it with your life. That is the price God exacts. Why offer God that which costs you nothing? After all, it isn't that life is so short, it is that eternity is so long. That is when nothing else will matter but the souls we have won and the lives we have touched. It will be worth it all! And now the worship is over and the service has begun. If you can dream it, you can do it!
Rose Grindheim Sims is a conference evangelist, church growth leader, ordained deacon, author, and college professor. She won the National Circuit Rider Award from the United Methodist Church, their highest national award for church growth. Dr. Sims' book New Life for Dying Churches has won a worldwide award, and is in the fourth printing. It is also in Spanish and has been made into an 8-hour church growth video series.
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